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Now that you’ve set up a Facebook Page for your business and you’re posting regularly, the next step is to measure performance and to look into using Facebook Ads to promote your business.

How to Get Started: Facebook Business Page Part 3

by Jennifer Priest

How to Use Facebook Insights

At the top of a Facebook page is a tab titled “insights”, Click the tab to see lots of in ­depth information about the page’s posts, the page’s followers and more. The information is all valuable but can be overwhelming when you are just starting out managing your own Facebook business page. Here’s where to start:

Pages to Watch

Scroll down on the first page of the Insights to see a section titled “Pages to Watch.” Choose at least five to ten pages to watch. These should be the pages of your competitors, similar businesses, and other businesses you work with. You can see how their pages are performing as well as the top posts for each page from the last week. You can share their top performing posts to provide more content to your page as well as to see what posts are working well.

Posts Tab

On the posts tab, you can see a graph showing when your followers are online over a 24 hour period. Consider posting at the times when your followers are online the most. Click on the “Posts Type” tab to see which types of posts get the most and the least engagement. Use this information to determine what to post.

Facebook Ads

There are some misconceptions about how Facebook Ads work and a belief that Facebook is a “pay to play” platform. You can use Facebook ads with very little money to get more reach and to target specific audiences. I recommend starting with a small budget of $5 to $20 per post and target different demographic groups to test the waters.

Facebook Ads Manager

Use the Ads Manager to create “dark posts”. ­ These posts show in the newsfeed but do not live on your Page. You’ll get likes from these ads. Promote something that is going to make you money.

Boosting Posts from the Facebook Page

Do not boost posts. ­ In my experience, this has not paid off as well as creating targeted ads in the Ads Manager.

Ads for “Likes”

Avoid ads for likes. If you advertise something you can make money from, then the “likes” will come from that ad because it has a button for people to like the Page. Paying for likes does not equal sales or growth.

Learning how to read your analytics and how to use the Facebook Ads Manager gets easier with time and practice. Make a point to check into your Facebook Insights once a week to get a lay of the land. Test out using the Ads Manager with a small investment of $5 to $20 per ad. Learning how to use these tools can give your business a leg up while other creative businesses are not using these tools.

How much do you think ads will help your business on Facebook?

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Jennifer Priest

Blogger at Just JP

Jennifer shares her love of creativity, DIY, and practical living at Just JP and through her online classes. She also runs the consulting firm Rainmaker Media Works, providing social media management services and blogger outreach for craft product manufacturers as well as coaching services to artists and makers.

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Latest posts by Jennifer Priest (see all)

• Guest Post: How to Get Started: Facebook Business Page Part 3 - August 24, 2015
• How to Get Started: Facebook Business Page Part 2 - August 17, 2015
• Guest Post: How to Get Started: Facebook Business Page Part 1 - August 4, 2015